Skiffle

Soon I will be heading to Darlington to record some skiffle songs with Jim Hornsby, John Cavener and of course Martin, at Skip Rat Studios, a proper garage studio with a pink carpet and old Skool gear. We'll be recording live and I'll be playing uke as well as guitar. I'm hoping we'll get some good backing vocals done too.
I haven't been playing the songs live so far apart from Sugar Hill, which I managed only the first line of on Friday before I forgot the rest and had to wait till the end for another go at it. I'd been trying to do a sweet'n'sour Valentine's set in Gateshead at the Caedmon Hall, which is a lovely venue like an upturned Noah's Ark inside, all dark wood and good acoustics.
I was supporting Martin and Jim. Martin chose a lovely set of some of the more laid back songs and the audience were amazing- not least for coming out on such a miserable Friday night of rain and blustery wind. Best song? Maybe Home, dedicated to my Dad as well as Martin's Mum. Jim is a great foil for Martin on stage, keeping him grounded with grumpiness that isn't real at all, and playing subtle guitar counterpoints to Martin's picking. It's always a real pleasure to see the interplay between them on stage.